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<channel><generator>iloblog 1.0</generator><title>1fan@31matches.eu Feed</title><link>http://uk.31matches.eu/</link><description>&lt;p&gt;“Wow, it seems like there is a football match every day of the year”, is something you often hear from girlfriends, mothers or curling fans when there is football on television yet again. And, of course, they’re right! &lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I proved that last season, when I visited 32 matches within 31 days, in 18 countries. Quite an experience. It was an once in a lifetime-experience, so this season I won&#039;t try to do the same. That doesn&#039;t mean I will stop watching football. Of course not. I try to see 31 special matches this year. I already know my last match, that will be the final of the Olympics, London2012. So, let&#039;s hope for a wonderful season!&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;On this page you can still read all about my journey and the things I got up to during my trip.&lt;/p&gt;</description><item><title>Target: 31 special matches within the year</title><link>http://iloapp.31matches.eu/blog/uk?Home&amp;post=45</link><description><![CDATA[ This season (2011/2012) I hope to see 31matches again. But this time not within the month... sorry, that was a once-in-a-lifetime-experience... So, I will try to see 31matches within the year.    But not just 31matches, 31 matches with a story... And of course I will try to write about it. But I still need you... tell me, which match is a 'must-see'? What is your favourite ficture? 
 ]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 14 Jul 2011 22:52:15 +0200</pubDate><category>Football</category></item><item><title>Nothing is impossible</title><link>http://iloapp.31matches.eu/blog/uk?Home&amp;post=44</link><description><![CDATA[  I know I
sound like an advertisement for sports clothing. I just did it! And Nothing is
Impossible. Well, sorry, but it feels a bit like this. After 31 days of
travelling, after 32 matches in 18 countries in 30 different competitions… from
Champions League to the semi final of the Liechtenstein Cup… I saw it all. It
was truly a dream that came true. 

 I’m not a
real groundhopper. Before this trip I saw I think 20 games in total outside of
Holland. Most of them where ‘by accident’, cause I was on holiday in that region.
It sounds fantastic do see al the stadiums in England, but I doubt I will ever
see them all… So, that was another reason why these 31 matches were special for
me. During this trip I experienced a real Groundhopping experience and I loved
every second of it. And for all you European Groundhoppers; visit Hohe Warte,
the stadium of First Vienna. And don’t forget BK Skjold in Denmark, Freiburg in
Germany and USV Eschen/Mauren in Liechtenstein either! 

 And maybe
the trip is over now, but I still love football. A lot of people asked me
whether I would be fed up with the sport after my trip, but I think it’s quite
the opposite. I look for the results of Bangor City (Champions of Wales!), of
FC Zurich (they won against Neuchatel when I was there, now they are going to
play for the championship against Basel) and of First Vienna (are they going to
relegate?).  

 I ended my
trip In London, at Chelsea-Tottenham. I saw the game with a few Tottenham-fans
I met before and it was a pleasure to be with those guys, real footballfans.
And real Tottenham-fans, that’s why I didn’t see all of them after the match…
disappointed by the result, which they thought was unfair. But it was nice to
walk to the stadium, even when you support the away-team. In The Netherlands
that isn’t possible. You have to travel together from the stadium of your club
to the away team. By busses or by trains. Buying a ticket on your own is simply
not possible. A good thing that there is enough respect and police near the
Chelsea-ground that I felt save enough to be an away fan. 

 And now my
conclusions… how is football in Europe? Well, no surprises when I say its’s
still very popular to visit the stadiums. Especially in Germany it’s madness.
My biggest crowd in 32 matches was in Berlin… in the Second Division of
Germany! Hertha BSC played for 75.000 people! And in the third league of
Germany I saw a match with 30.000 others. Really insane. Another thing I
noticed is the calmness of strikers when they have a big chance. 90% of them
are fixated on getting the ball behind the goalkeeper. Of course that’s where
it should be but most of the times they miss the goal as well. The few that
were fixated on putting the ball between the posts were more successful. Most
of the times the keeper is too late to save a ball that was within reach,
purely because of the quality of the striker. It sounds easy, but it is very
hard. Like Johan Cruijff once said: easy football is the hardest there is.  

 What’s
next? Now I ended this once-in-a-lifetime-experience, what’s next? Well, next
year I will visit the matches of my club Willem II again, in the second
division of the Netherlands. And I will try to see a few games in other
countries as well. I won’t try 40 games in 40 days (although it’s possible) and
I won’t try this on other continents as well (I guess its impossible there).
But if you ever want to make a trip like this, just do it! Don’t overthink it,
cause it’s really amazing.    
 ]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 08 May 2011 15:06:59 +0200</pubDate><category>Football</category></item><item><title>The wedding ring of Maribor</title><link>http://iloapp.31matches.eu/blog/uk?Home&amp;post=43</link><description><![CDATA[  When you
hear Maribor and Slovenia you expect an old stadium full of grumpy people
somewhere in a grey area of the former Yugoslavia Republic. Ok, they play
European football now and then and even won against Hibs this year, in
Edinburgh, butmaybe that was because they underestimate this team.  

 No, it just
isn’t true. The stadium of Maribor is for the most part very modern and good
looking. The nickname is ‘the wedding ring’ cause you have the old main stand
(the crown) and the rest of the stadium which is build new and has a round roof
in the shape of a wave (the ring). The plans are to rebuild the main stand as
well, but well… like everywhere, they need money first. That’s why their
European form was so important. They even won at home against Palermo, the
biggest win for a Slovenian team against a team from the Serie A since the independence, but were out after a
loss in Italy. 

 And no
grumpy people either here. The press chef is there to welcome me and gives me a
scarf of the club. Someone of the Fan Store will see the match with me, at the
modern part of the stadium. They know and they love the club, you can see that without a doubt. The match itself, a semi final of the cup, is full
of incidents. First of all, the striker of Maribor. Velikonja Etien. Just 22
and maybe a bright future ahead of him. He is the Slovenian Filippo Inzaghi but
then without the goals… he stands three times alone for the keeper, sometimes
even for an empty net and as many times he fails. Till the fourth time. Etien
scores the only goal and that means man of the match. Also because the opponent
Koper had problems stopping Etien. They only could do it with bookable
offences, which means two red cards in total. After the match I see Zlatko
Zahovic, the legend of Slovenia. He’s sporting director here and happy after
the win. Maribor will win the double probably, so another step forward to
getting a new main stand. 

 The day
after: a match of Szolniki in Hungary. Yes, you expect an old stadium and
grumpy people all over again. Wrong again. Well, partly. They have big plans
for building a new stadium, but only one fourth is finished. Then the fans,
just 500 in total. And they all eat birdfood… seeds and stuff like that. It’s
normal in Eastern Europe but for me it’s a weird habit. They talk and eat. No
singing, no atmosphere. An boring match as well. So, a boring match, and it
made me miss Real Madrid-Barcelona. Oh well, I saw the Man United game the day
before, so no complains. Now ready to see match in my 18th (!!)
country. I’m in Zurich now… and where are you? 
 ]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 28 Apr 2011 15:55:12 +0200</pubDate><category>Football</category></item><item><title>Amazing week</title><link>http://iloapp.31matches.eu/blog/uk?Home&amp;post=42</link><description><![CDATA[  A paper
from Luxembourg did the math for me. According to them I travelled 13.000
kilometers to see my 31 matches. An amazing number… but I’m not there yet. One
final week to go!  

And I just had another amazing week behind me as
well. This last week brought me to Genk (Belgium), Freiburg and Cologne
(Germany), Tilburg (The Netherlands), Auxerre (France) and DIfferdange
(Luxemburg). Again five countries in six days time! 
 
And in the meantime, I’m owner of a club now… well, sort of. Like Ebbsfleet United
in England, the supporters of Fortuna Köln are the boss of their club. They
decide who to buy, who can play and they evaluate the manager. A good system to
raise money, but for a manager it’s difficult. The current manager of Fortuna
Köln knows everything about this. Just this season the fans had an online poll
whether the manager should be sacked three times! The manager won every
‘election’ but decided not to wait till he’ll lose one. At the end of the
season, he quits. A never dare devil is already appointed but with the ambition
of the club and the 9000 owners, there is always a different kind of pressure.
And yes, I’m part of that now! WE have to play in the RegionalLiga in two years
from now! 
 
So, that being said… I also saw a match of my own club, back in the
Netherlands. Willem II is going to relegate (even if I was in charge there as
well, it was unavoidable. But this home game we won again, we still have a
little bit of hope. It ain’t over till the fat lady sings… it was nice to be
home again and not that weird as expected. I’m still having fun with travelling
around Europe and to see footballmatches, so no problem there. 
 
This trip made me a bit of famous as well. Well, for one day then. In
Luxembourg they recognized me in the pub already and at the stadium lots of
people asked me whether I was that crazy Dutchy… Ok, it was hard to miss
wearing a huge backpack into the stands, but they heard of my arrival anyway.
The club Differdange gave me a authentic match shirt of them, I was interviewed
by a newspaper, radio and television and I got a free beer! Differdange won
their cup game as well, so… all by all a great experience. 
 
And at this very moment I’m in Slovenia. Waiting for another cup tie. NK
Maribor plays Koper, and we all know how important that is. Ok, maybe not for
you guys, but for the people in Maribor it is. And that’s the beauty of
travelling around. I always see the most important match of the week for
according to some homefans, and that every day! 
 
The last five matches: 
26-4 Maribor-Koper Maribor,
Slovenia 
27-4 Znolnoki-Vasas Znolnok,
Hongary 
28-4 FC Zurich-Neuchatel Zurich,
Switzerland 
29-4 Reims-Dijon Reims,
France 
30-4 Chelsea-Tottenham Londen,
England  
 ]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 26 Apr 2011 23:25:12 +0200</pubDate><category>Football</category></item><item><title>I met a Liverpool legend because of a lost passport</title><link>http://iloapp.31matches.eu/blog/uk?Home&amp;post=41</link><description><![CDATA[  Sometimes
things happens for a reason. I like to think. And otherwise… you just have to
make the best out of things, even when you lose your passport. Cause, yes… like
an amateur … I lost my passport. But I do know where… San Siro stadium. 

 There I saw
the future Italian champions. I saw them playing a few times in the Champions
League this year, but they didn’t impress me much. But they did today! Kevin
Prince Boateng is great, Cassano is dangerous and even Seedorf is still a star.
Every attempt to attack, starts with him. He is the leader on the pitch,
decides when to pass, when to shoot. When to rush and when to take it easy.
Seedorf in optima forma. Almost worth losing your passport for… 

 So, there I
am… on a Italian station, at midnight. I want to go to Switzerland. But that’s
not a very wise thing to do, without a pass. Even when you travel by train,
like I do, they can have border controls. So, I just go to the Italian police station,
downtown. At 2.00am I’m ready. Now it’s
time to look for a hotel and… a new match for tomorrow. Cause it can not end
here. I still have to see a match on Sunday, one instead of the originally
planned Basel-Grashoppers. Within minutes I find one. On the third level in
Italy. Monza-Spezia. I know Monza is a town a few miles from Milan, so, that’s
convenient. I have to be in Milan on Monday morning first thing, to pick up a
new passport at the consulate. 

 I knew
Seedorf was one of the owners of Monza. What I forgot was the name of the
goalkeeper he bought. Or who he asked to return from retirement, to be exact.
Not that long ago he won four prices with Liverpool in one season. That makes
him a bit of a legend, right? I’m talking about Sander Westerveld. He stopped
playing football for a year, but likes the plan of Seedorf, and he loves
playing too much. 
 
It’s quite a difference, between Milan and Monza. 2000 instead of 50.000 spectators.
And the football is terrible. Clarence Seedorf is here as well, but he can’t
enjoy the match as well. Sander Westerveld didn’t enjoy it either… after 30
minutes he was sent off. According to the referee he handled the ball outside
the box. He denies, he says it was on the line… the referee always has the last
word. The game ends in 0-0. 

 When I read
Westerveld was at Monza I tried to forget my passportproblems by making an
interview appointment with Sander Westerveld, right after the match. The press
officer would ask him. After the red card I think it’s pointless. Why would
Westerveld want to talk to a Dutch footballfan, who he never heard of, when he’s
angry about the red card. 

 But my luck
returned again. Westerveld takes all the time after the match to talk to me
about 31matches, about Monza, Italy, Liverpool and his carreer after sport. He
enjoys his time in Italy, although the results are terrible (Monza will
probably relegate to the fourth level…) 
 
On Monday I get a new passport and I travel to Karlsruhe. There I’m invited to
the pitch, to tell everybody about my 31matches. Luckily my German is good enough,
sadly enough nobody can hear me while the microphone is too far away from my
mouth. Well, anyway, for me it was a cool experience to be on the pitch again,
now right before a game. 
 
And the trip goes on like planned. Yesterday I saw First Vienna (every
footballfan has to go to a game of First Vienna in their lives, a homegame.
They play in the most wonderful old stadium you will ever see. Hohe Warte. Go
check it yourself! 
 
And today I’m in Belgium to see Genk-Brugge. It marks the end of my third week
on the road… After today just 10 matches to go…  Schedule: 

20-4 KRC
Genk-Club Brugge Genk,
Belgium 
21-4 SC Freiburg-Hannover Freiburg,
Germany 
22-4 Dudelingen-Swift Dudelingen,
Luxembourg 
23-4 Willem II-AZ Tilburg,
The Netherlands 
24-4 Auxerre-Lens Auxerre,
France 
25-4 Fortuna Köln-Germania Windeck Cologne, Germany 
26-4 Maribor-Koper Maribor,
Slovenia 
27-4 Znolnoki-Vasas Znolnok,
Hungary  
 ]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:14:38 +0200</pubDate><category>Football</category></item><item><title>Just win that Cup!</title><link>http://iloapp.31matches.eu/blog/uk?Home&amp;post=40</link><description><![CDATA[  Every
country has its own cup. And in each country there are clubs who desperately
want to win that trophy. It’s important for them. 
 
That’s why there isn’t such a big difference between a match of Eschen and a
match of Schalke as you should expect. For England this weekend it’s all about
the FA Cup, but in Liechtenstein last Tuesday was the big day. USV
Eschen/Mauren wanted to reach the final of the FL1. Aktiv Cup. A competition
with just teams from Liechtenstein. Those seven (!) teams from this country
normally play in the Swiss Competition, they just have their own Cup. Can you
imagine how important those games are… they play for the national honour. 

 It’s
raining, just 200 people came to the complex. Eschen is the favourite for
today. They play one League higher than their opponent, FC Balzers. But you
wouldn’t say that, in the first twenty minutes. Balzers plays well and get a
few chances. But one breakaway is enough, like it happens so many times in cup
ties. The goalkeeper doesn’t have another option then to bring the striker
down. Red card, penalty and 1-0 for USV. The people in the clubhouse are glad,
they are going to the final! And indeed, with a 2-1 win USV qualifies for the
final, against and in Vaduz. Their season is good. 

 Then: 24
hours later. After a night in Liechtenstein, I’m in Germany. In Gelsenkirchen
to be precise. This season of Schalke04 is a weird one. The form in the league is
terrible. They will end up in the middle of the table and that’s not what they
want. But… this season they are all about the Cup. They are in the final of the
German Bokal. But even more important, today they will qualify themselves for
the semi final of the Champions League. Never before did they reach the semis.
And by doing that, they eliminate the champion of last year, Inter Milan. 

 It’s good
weather, more than 50.000 fans showed up to the stadium. They want to see
history written. Schalke 04 won their first game with 5-2, so it shouldn’t be a
problem. And it isn’t. I meet Olivier, a huge fan of Schalke 04. He has
everything of the club. The dentist even has a waiting room with Schalke
memorabilia. No Borussia Dortmund fans allowed! Before the match he’s nervous.
Never trust the Italians, he says. Never think you’re already there… He likes
this state of mind. You have to be nervous before a cup tie. Otherwise it’s not
important. 

 Afterwards,
he’s over the moon with winning again, against Inter. Till the next morning. He
just heard the date of the match against Man United. ‘I’m still on holiday’, he
says. ‘Can you believe that? We never expected Schalke in the semi final of the
Champions League when we booked our holiday to Turkey. But now, we fly back to
Germany the day after the game. That’s not possible right?’ He looks to his
wife. ‘Please baby, please call them.’ Big eyes of Olivier. ‘Please ask them
whether it’s possible to go home one day earlier. Please.’ His wife doesn’t
complain but you can read her mind… Again football. Never a peaceful holiday…
But she will call. Olivier knows how unique this cup is. 

 I go to the
train, this day I have a match in my own country, in the Netherlands. PSV
Eindhoven plays against Benfica. Everybody in Eindhoven is praying for a
miracle. They lost the first match in the quarter final of the Europa Cup (the
former Uefa Cup, strangely enough without English teams in the quarters this
time). But they didn’t just lose it . They lost 1-4. In the league that’s
terrible but ok, it happens. In the cup, that almost always means elimination.
That’s why they all hope for a miracle. They are praying. 

 36.000 fans
showed up. Most of them bought their tickets before the 1-4 loss. Otherwise the
stadium would be emptier. But sometimes praying helps. PSV scores. 1-0. PSV
scores again. 2-0. Just one more… a real cup sensation. But then Benfica
Lissabon scores and it’s over. Maybe next year. There is always a next year.
Next year we can win this cup! 

 On Friday I
see a match in Metz. No more cupgames, just a league game. And of course, it
ends in a draw. No winner. No loser. No cup to win here… 
 ]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 16 Apr 2011 16:54:09 +0200</pubDate><category>Football</category></item><item><title>The schedule</title><link>http://iloapp.31matches.eu/blog/uk?Home&amp;post=39</link><description><![CDATA[  My schedule
for the upcoming days: 

Wednesday,
13 April Schalke 04 – Internazionale, Germany 
Thursday , 14 April PSV – Benfica, the Netherlands 
Friday, 15 April Metz - Clermont ,France 
Saturday ,16 April AC Milan - Sampdoria, Italy 
Sunday , 17 April Basel - Grashoppers, Switzerland 
Monday, 18 April Karlsruhe – Augsburg, Germany 
Tuesday, 19 April First Vienna – SV Kapfenberg, Austria 
Wednesday, 20 April: Unknown 
Thursday, 21 April: Freiburg – Hannover 
Friday, 22 April: Cup game in Luxembourg 
Saturday, 23 April: Willem II – AZ 
Sunday, 24 April: Unknown  
 ]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:13:17 +0200</pubDate><category>Football</category></item><item><title>The empty Balkan</title><link>http://iloapp.31matches.eu/blog/uk?Home&amp;post=38</link><description><![CDATA[  Ever heard of the Bad Blue Boys? They are the Ultras of Dinamo Zagreb. And they are disagreeing about the vice-president of their club (the man who actually rules the whole club, nobody ever hears from the real president). So what are they doing? They boycotting the club!  Of course I had to see that by myself, in Zagreb. So, after a match in Belgium and Austria, I ended up in Zagreb. Nice town, nice people, nice weather… empty stadium. I spoke to Igor about this boycot: “We’re boycotting this club since August already. All the Bad Blue Boys see the matches downtown, in a cinema. We all still have a Dinamo-heart, we’re just really against Zdravko Mamic. He buys and sells players, the profit is never going to the club, he only cares about the money and… above all, he is fan of Yugoslavia and clubs in Belgrade… for us, that’s impossible. He makes a disgrace of the club. We’re not going anymore until he’s gone.  Ok, firm language, but until now, that didn’t help. Josipa, who I met at the stadium, explains: “He earns too much money to even bother about the Bad Blue Boys. He will never stop just because of the boycott. We disagree with his politics as well, but we’re still going, me and my nephew. Cause our love for Dinamo is bigger than the dislike against Mamic.”  In the Maksimir-stadium there is place for 40.000 fans. I think only 2.000 fans showed up. It’s not the most beautiful stadium in the world anyway, especially when it’s empty. The match isn’t that special either. The day after I’m in Serbia for Proleter Novi Sad. There the show was stolen by three girls, who supported one special player (probably the boyfriend of one of them). Three beautiful girls between 100 older men. Too bad I didn’t understand a word, but even in Serbian it was a beautiful conversation between the girls and the men. The men won though, the favourite player was substituted after 70 minutes and the girls left the stadium. After a hand kiss of course.  A next train brought me to the capital of the Czech Republic. It was derbytime again! Sparta Prague-Slavia Prague. Too bad there are so many tourists in Prague, there was no atmosphere in the city until you reaches the stadium. The most important match for them of the year, 19.000 people, sold out house. And if an English club is looking for a striker: Kweuke Leonard. Good, fast, strong and he scores goals. The only two of the match, which ended in 2-0.  And when all of you guys are watching Man United-Chelsea, I’m in Liechtenstein. To see an even more exciting cup-tie. I hope…    
 ]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:07:34 +0200</pubDate><category>Football</category></item><item><title>Two matches in the Third Division</title><link>http://iloapp.31matches.eu/blog/uk?Home&amp;post=37</link><description><![CDATA[  In England
you have the First Division. In Holland it’s called Topklasse, in Denmark it’s
the 2. Division and only in German they give the right number to it: Die 3.
Bundesliga. The third level of professional football. And I didn’t even
realize, but I saw two matches out a Third Division in a row. First in Denmark,
then in Germany. But the differences couldn’t be bigger. 
 
On Tuesday I travel from the Swedisch capital Stockholm to the Danisch
equivalent Copenhagen. Remember, all my travelling is by train, so, it takes
five hours. On time I arrive in Copenhagen. No time to sightsee, cause I made
some movies for a local television station in the Netherlands, called RTi
Hilversum. And I have to send those movies (2 GB in total). That takes forever…
But, of course I'm on time for the game BK Skjold-BGA, two teams from
Copenhagen and suburbs. 
 
 I walk from the station to the stadium.
It’s one straight road. And I do see a stadium. But… it’s huge. I already know
it won’t be a popular match tonight, so why such a big stadium. It turns out
that this specific stadium is the national stadium Parken. Right next to it,
there is a small stadium with track, Osterbro stadium. And yes, there is the
match I’m going to watch. First I don’t find the entrance. I would through a
door and all of a sudden… I’m in the dressing room of BK Skjold. The players
are out on the pitch already,so I turn around and find the right way to the
stands. Indeed, just fifty men turned up for this game. Including four boys, I
think 12 till 15 years old. It’s cute, they brought some small firework, for
during the Kick Off. The club thinks it’s not so cute cause after a smoke bomb
the four guys are thrown out the stadium! What a difference with the Monday.
During the Stockholm derby, all I saw was fireworks and a lot of smoke. Now,
one small smoke bomb is too much. 

 At the
stands I meet Stuart Fuller. He’s the writer of the book passport to football.
A book about his foreign trips to Zagreb, Amsterdam, Minsk among others. He
also has his own blog: The Ball is Round. A real footballfan, otherwise you’re
not in the stadium for matches like these. He tells a few stories and he
listens to what I have to tell about my first days of travelling. The match is
actually not too bad. BGA wins 3-1, and they can even afford to miss a penalty. 

 The next
day I’m in a train again. Of course. But between Denmark and Germany is a lot
of water. What’s the solution then? Put the train on a boat and ship it all to
Germany. And that’s exactly what they did. For 45 minutes I’m on the boat,
after that the train brings me to Berlin and Dresden. With just one hour to go
I arrive at the stadium. The game is sold out, but because of an interview in
SportBild people arranged a press ticket for me. A very nice gesture, but where
do I have to pick this up? Nobody knows anything about a ticket for me… I wait
5 minutes, I wait 10 minutes.. just half an hour before kickoff a man asks my
name. He gives me a ticket and that’s it. I’m in! 

 And again I
see a game in the third division. But it’s a big difference compared with last
night. Instead of 50 fans there are 30.000 It’s a clash between Dynamo Dresden
and Rot-Weiss Erfurt. Two clubs from former Eastern Germany. Then they were the
big clubs in the league. Now they still are, just in a lower league. They
battle for promotion to the 2. Bundesliga. The Ultras of Dresden are
impressive, what a noise! It brings the hometeam to a higher level. For five
minutes. Dresden scores the first goal but then it’s over. Whether the pressure
is too much or whether Erfurst is just a better team, I don’t know. But at the
end of the match 1-3 stands on the scoreboard, and that means Erfurt is still
in the battle for promotion, for Dresden it will be a difficult story. Another
year of the 3. Bundesliga awaits. 

 For me,
that’s not the end of the day. Because I gave an interview to SportBild before
I left, people know that I’m coming. A local radio station grabs this
opportunity. I have to give an interview, completely in German. I hope
everybody understood me with my Dutch accent. I end the day on the bench of
Dresden, in the stadium, cause the radiostation wants a photo along the
interview, to publish on the website. The stadium is empty already, dark.  
 
And that was my first week of 31matches. I saw 8 games, 24 goals, 2 red cards,
a lot of fireworks and still… I hope the best is yet to come! This upcoming
days I’m going to Belgium, Croatia (Dinamo Zagreb), Serbia and Prague. So, read
my blog on tuesda y again, to hear all about my adventures in Southeastern
Europe! 
 ]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 07 Apr 2011 22:16:57 +0200</pubDate><category>Football</category></item><item><title>Three matches in two days</title><link>http://iloapp.31matches.eu/blog/uk?Home&amp;post=36</link><description><![CDATA[  It’s quite
a distance between Berlin and Stockholm. Maybe not if you go by plane, but by
train, it’s a big trip. But who cares if that trip means you can see three
beautiful games within two days! I started on Sunday afternoon with a stroll in
the Olympic Park. It was beautiful weather, the sun was shining and I was one
hour early for the kick off. Life is good when you have a Bratwurst and a Coca
Cola in the sun, with the prospect of Hertha. 

 Hertha BSC
is the biggest team in Berlin, and one of the biggest of Germany. And if you go
by attendances one of the biggest of Europe. And yet, it plays in the second
Bundesliga. But where else in Europe do you have a sold out game of 70.000
people in a second division? The match against Paderborn ended in 2-0 for
Hertha, three points closer to promotion. 
 
After that I had to hurry. Cause in less than two hours Wolfsburg would kick
off against Eintracht Frankfurt. And
Wolfsburg is an hour by train. I managed to catch my train and just 15 minutes
before the game started I was at the stadium. But still with my backpack…
luckily I could put by bag near the mediasection. I sat somewhere else, on the
long side near the Fanatics. This match was the most entertaining so far. Not
one moment of piece, just flying, running and fighting. The 1-1 draw was not
enough for Wolfsburg, and if they just did more with their chances they would
have won with 5-1, at least. 

 Then the
big train trip. I started at 23.00 and ended at 17.00 in Stockholm. And why? To
see a goalless draw of Djurgardens vs AIK. But the atmosphere made up for the
lack of goals. There was firework, singing, jumping, all that you can expect of
a real Stockholmderby. At the Rasunda Stadium it was quite an experience. Just
too bad it was my first 0-0 of the trip. 

 Now off to
Copenhagen, Dresden, Vyle-Theroul and Vienna for the next part of my trip. Quite
a distance again. But I don’t mind. I did 6 matches now, and still 26 to go
before the end of the month. It’s Football on Rails! 
 ]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 05 Apr 2011 13:52:45 +0200</pubDate><category>Football</category></item></channel>
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